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Rapier had seen the events unfold at the base as he had successfully infiltrated the TSAB security system unnoticed.
He now had full control of the cameras and could see what was going on everywhere on the base. He had observed the infiltration of the reapers, although he had been too late to warn anyone. By the time he had reached the final firewall, the alarm had gone off and the reapers had left the building.

But he had other, more important matters on his hands than a mere intrusion. For too many years, he had been separated from a part of himself, a part assigned to work on a counter-measure. A fail-safe his programmers had put in that would activate if the reapers went rogue. Unfortunately, the code had been incomplete and Rapier had been forced to finish the code himself, assigning that workload to the part he had hidden deep within himself.

He accessed the hidden section of his memory bank and brought the separated part up. He connected himself to it once again and information streamed into his processor. He was slightly surprised at the result, as it was better than anticipated. He analyzed the data and noticed a few inconsistencies, but those wouldn’t take long to fix.

Not for him anyway.

The only problem now was to stay hidden, while at the same extracting information from the TSAB security system that contained the missing parts he didn’t have about the reapers. They had changed several times during the centuries and he needed to update the fail-safe code with new information.

He began the process of extracting it while the images from the surveillance system showed an increase in activity around the base.

=== ===

“What do you mean by ‘No reinforcements’? Why did I receive an approval an hour ago if there are no reinforcements?” Hayate asked the officer over the com.

“Lieutenant Colonel, we have a serious situation developing all over Mid-Childa,” the voice on the other side said. He had a calm voice, but she sensed he was tensed, not willing to talk about what the situation was. “Reapers have been spotted close to residential areas and the TSAB have decided to protect these locations at all costs. Every available mage has been called in. We don’t know what the reapers have planned, but we won’t let them make a surprise attack on us again. You have to work with what you have.”

Hayate shook her head. There is no way I can convince him. The TSAB needs the troops more than I do too.

“But you must have something I can use,” she continued. “A transport, support troops, anything you can offer.”

“There is nothing I can do. I’m telling you…wait, hold on.”

There was a pause as he checked something on his screen. “I might have something that can be of use to you. One of the transport helicopters just returned and it doesn’t have anything scheduled for some hours. If you want, I can contact the pilot and tell him you are in command.”

Hayate didn’t hesitate. A transport was one of the most important things she wanted, as the location they were going to was pretty far away. Even though they could manage to get there without one, she wanted the Nova teams to be rested until they arrived.

“Do it. Tell him to land on the helipad on the roof. We’ll be ready for him.”

“Roger that, Lieutenant Colonel,” he said and clicked of the intercom.

I need to tell this to the others right away, she thought while she walked towards the door. They won’t be happy about it, but it’s better to tell them now than on the way there.

Her military jacket hung beside the door and she was just about to lift it off its hanger, when a com window appeared in front of her. Signum appeared on the screen.

“Hayate, we just wanted to tell you that the others are ready to go. We are just waiting for the reinforcements,” she said.

Hayate sighed. I can just as well tell them now.

“Is everyone else there? I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, they are here,” Signum said “Is something wrong?”

Hayate nodded and gave her a sad smile.

“There are no reinforcements,” she said. “Reapers have appeared all over Mid-Childa. The brass is deploying all available mages they have and can’t spare anyone.”

Signum raised an eyebrow. “Reapers? It’s unusual for them to allow themselves to be compromised so quickly. Are they planning something?”

Hayate nodded again. “It seems that way, but neither I nor the higher-ups know the details. They are just preparing for the worst and I don’t blame them. It’s the most sensible action to take.”

“It’s a diversion,” Nanoha cut in on a new window that appeared in front of Hayate. “They know we are observing them at their base, so they sent out a few other groups to divert our forces.”

Hayate scratched the back of her head and thought about it for a moment. “Nanoha, we have no evidence that points to that,” Hayate said. “Focus on the task at hand, we can’t call for reinforcements and that’s that. I did however manage to get us a chopper that can transport us. It should arrive at the helipad soon.”

Nanoha didn’t push the subject any further. She rallied the others to follow her and closed the link. Hayate turned her attention back to Signum.

“Signum. Keep an eye out for Nanoha for me. I don’t want to lose her too and I can’t look after her when we get there,” she said.

“I’ll do my best,” Signum said and followed the others.

Hayate whipped her jacket off its hanger, and turned to exit via the door. Just before entering the hallway, she turned around and gazed at her office once more.

I have a feeling I won’t be coming back here anytime soon, she thought and began to close the door. Fate, we are coming for you. Just hold on for a bit longer.

She closed the door and proceeded towards the helipad.

=== === ===

The noise from the helicopter’s rotor reached Hayate’s ears just as she opened the door to the helipad. She saw the others standing a bit to the right, making room for it. She searched the sky around them and saw it coming in from the east. Its metallic skin gleamed in the afternoon sun, a contrast against the blue sky. It came in fast, faster than the protocols allowed, but the pilot seemed to have it under control.
Hayate went over to the others and helped them packing the extra equipment. She observed them for a bit.

Tense and nervous, she thought. I don’t blame them, this won’t be easy.

She looked over at Nanoha who had finished packing. She stood at the railing and looked at nothing in particular. Hayate rose to her feet and slowly walked over to her.

“Nanoha, are you alright?” she asked.

The girl didn’t turn around at first and continued staring out into the sky.

“Hayate,” she said with a low voice. “We will rescue Fate, won’t we?”

“Of course we will,” Hayate said and put a hand on her shoulder. “You know she can take care of herself until we arrive.”

“I know,” Nanoha said and turned around. She looked at Hayate with a sad expression. “At the time of the kidnapping…I can’t stop thinking about what I could have done instead. My mind just went blank; all I thought of were not to hurt Fate. Now that I think about it, I could have flown in and just grabbed the coffin itself. But why didn’t I do that back then? I don’t understand.”

Hayate put her hands on Nanoha’s shoulder and looked straight at her.

“It wasn’t your fault. You can’t blame yourself for that, no one anticipated that situation. Stop thinking about it and focus on rescuing Fate. We need you, Nanoha…now more than ever.”

Nanoha nodded and made a small smile.

“You’re right. I can’t let my feelings get the upper hand. Let’s go.”

Hayate smiled back and patted her on the shoulders.
The helicopter arrived at that moment and carefully put itself down on the helipad. Its rotor didn’t stop spinning and the pilot kept the engine running as he leant out of the window and waved his hand, signaling to them to get on. The load bay hatch opened and they began to climb aboard.
Hayate was the last onboard as she supervised the others and made sure that everything got inside before closing the hatch.
Inside, the engine noise was not as noticeable and the Nova teams chatted amongst themselves. A com window opened next to Hayate, designated to the pilot’s compartment.

“Vice! I didn’t know this were yours,” Hayate said, a bit surprised.

Vice laughed a little and took the helicopter up into the air.

“Well, I got a message stating that you needed some help and I was finished for the moment anyway,” he said and grew more serious. “I’m sorry to hear about Fate. I wasn’t here when it happened. I wish I could have been of assistance.”

Hayate glanced at Nanoha who was chatting with Vita. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but the Ace smiled and that was enough for her. She turned her attention back to Vice.

“Don’t worry, we manage. It’s just a matter of going inside and get her out from there,” she said.

Vice nodded. It looked like he had something to say but decided against it.

“I’ll talk to you later then,” he said and cut off the com. Hayate closed her eyes and let the noise and voices drain away for a moment. The shaking and the sensation of flight made her relaxed and calm.
She was brought out of this state when Rapier’s voice suddenly streamed into the compartment.

“I hope you can hear me as I’m using a non-legit communications grid right now”, he said, his voice a bit distorted and too sharp. “I just wanted to tell you that during the maintenance of your devices last night, I gave them a temporary upgrade suited for a specific use. Some of you have received a power upgrade, some a speed upgrade. I hope this will help you in the upcoming battle.”

Non-legit communications and unauthorized upgrading? Hayate thought. What the hell is he doing?

She stood up and heightened her voice. She didn’t like that Rapier went behind their backs.

“Explain yourself Rapier. This is very serious. You can’t go past the security like that, you might get separated from the system altogether.”

“I know the risks Lieutenant Colonel,” he said with annoyance in his voice. “It was something I had to do to get access to information I didn’t have at the time. I upgraded your devices just because they were on the way.”

Hayate didn’t know what he meant. The others were equally baffled.

“Information? What kind of information?”

“About the reapers,” Rapier said and sighed. “I’ll tell you more when I’m finished. Telling you everything now would make you unfocused.”

Before Hayate could say anything, Rapier terminated the connection and left them in silence.

Rein suddenly floated to Hayate’s side. She had been talking to Signum right before Rapier began to talk, but she had something to say.

“It’s true. I was also on maintenance last night and I felt something…strange,” she said.

Hayate looked at her worryingly. What they really didn’t need now was their devices to malfunction.

Rein nodded and flew back to Signum to continue their conversation. Hayate looked out of the window next to her and saw the sun closing in on the ground. They sky was now faint red and illuminated the compartment inside the helicopter. It looked so peaceful, so calming.
Hayate picked that moment to tell her plan to the others.

“Listen up,” she said and rose from her seat. The others turned around and looked at her. “The plan is the following; we disembark a distance from the base itself and make our way through the forest. The noise from the helicopter might alert them and I don’t want to risk that. Vice, would you be willing to provide covering fire from the helicopter in case we need it?”

Vice’s voice sounded through the compartment.

“No problem. I’ll let you off and stay there until you contact me,” he said.

“Thanks,” Hayate said and turned her attention back to the others. “When we get closer to the base, look out for patrols or traps. We don’t know if they will be waiting or not but be on your guard. The rest is simple; break in, fight our way through the base and rescue Fate. Since we don’t have any reinforcements, capturing it is not an option. Any questions?”

“Sounds good to me,” Vita said. “I’m longing for some metal smashing.”

“I don’t have anything to add Hayate,” Signum said. “Considering the circumstances, it’s what we have at the moment.”

The others came with their own approvals and no one disagreed. They knew that coming up with a plan with so little information was hard, if not impossible. It was better than nothing. All of them just wanted revenge on the reapers and save Fate. That was all that mattered.

As Nanoha made the trek to the small room she shared at one of the Residencies in the evening, she began to contemplate why she signed up for the mission. It was risky given not even her supervisor knew much about what they were to be doing or what they were to be driving. Granted it was to be via remote control they still had to be within transmission range. And it was to be at Eden of all places. Her birth place filled with memories of family and friends. She paused her steps for a moment. Friends...Fate. Had she gotten out of Eden when they evacuated? With the communication satellite down she had no means to contact her. Even more so she had no idea where she was on the planet, let alone if she was alive at all. But she had Hayate and her relatives there with her. They would look after each other, especially with Hayate's uncle Gil on the Eden Council. He definitely would make sure that they would have gotten out.

The brownish-red door in front of her broke her train of though. Apparently she had started walking again and ended up back at her place. The door parted and granted her access to the small space she shared.

"Ah, welcome back Nanoha!"

A smile came to the girl's face. It was a simple greeting, but to her it reaffirmed that she was home. Plymouth was her home. It was where her family and friends were. In the back of her mind she hoped that maybe, someday, the two colonies would reconcile and then they could all be together again. For now she had her mind on the upcoming mission. She didn't want to worry anyone so she decided to keep quiet about it.

"Thanks, Arisa-chan. It was Suzuka-chan's turn to cook tonight, right?"

A week passed by with no word about the mission. The day before those who volunteered got messages to meet at the Vehicle Factory at noon. Nanoha guessed that they would be starting the recon mission that day. As noon rolled around, she gave excuses to her friends that she was being sent off on a scouting mission for new mining locations to ward off any suspicions of her disappearance. It was easily accepted since she had gone on similar assignments before. For her it wasn't a complete lie. She was going out on a scouting mission; it just wasn't for mining locations.

Arriving at the Vehicle Factory, she was instructed to wait in one of the meeting rooms with the others. Inside she saw maybe about a dozen or so volunteers like herself. She only recognized one of them, Vice, from having worked with him before. It didn't surprise her that Vice would have volunteered for the mission. He had been assigned to assist with expansion of the colony's tubes the past few weeks and he had been quite...imaginative in profession his frustration over the boring assignment as of late. Small talk emerged between the room's occupants, mostly on their theories about what the new vehicle they would be operating would be. Some suggested it would be some kinda subterranean transport while others a giant mobile base they required all of them to operate it. Then there was Vice who was hoping for some kind of flying vehicle, like a helicopter he had seen in the archives. The conversations quickly died down as several security personnel entered the room. Seeing all eyes on them, the apparent leader spoke up.

"First, I would like to thank all of you for volunteering to participate in this mission. Now, I'm sure all of your know where we are heading. Why we are doing is for information. Several people on the council believe that the evacuation of Eden had something to do with their research in the Advance Labs. Our mission is to head in and use modified Scouts to scan and transmit whatever data we can find from their four labs."

The main screen in the room flared to life. One of the other security personnel brought up what appeared to be a satellite picture of the colony.

"We have the coordinates for their labs. However there appears to be some kind of damage to all the structures in the colony. Their power plants are still online which means the labs are still powered. While that makes our job easier of just having to scan the labs, it also limits out timetable. One of their Advance Labs shows to have extensive damage leading us to believe their might be volatile materials inside and could cause the labs to explode. If that is the case, we need to retrieve the data before that happens."

Two pictures came up above the fist, displaying some weird structure that looked like a radar dish and another of a vehicle with a dish mounted to it.

"What we also found were these. Based on what we were able to gather these things you see here...are weapons." A collective gasp came from the workers in the room. "From what we were able to gather these appear to be some kind of laser-based weapon system that Eden has deployed around the colony. They also seem to have adapted it to a mobile platform. A Scout we sent in earlier was attacked when it came within range of these weapons. Another Scout observed the lasers attacking a large piece of metal that fell from a structure, leading us to believe that they are aggressive to anything that moves. Why they are programmed to that we don't know. What it does is make this mission even more dangerous."

A hand came up from one of the workers. "But with these weapons around the labs, how will we be able to retrieve the data?"

"Ah, good question. That is where the new vehicle you will be operating comes in."

All the image son the screen were closed and replaced with a slow-spinning 3-D model. It was a 6-wheeled vehicle with a lean frame. A cab for one or two people could be seen integrated into the single body. It looked strikingly similar to the armed vehicles in the Eden picture except for the device mounted to it. Instead of the radar dish it had what could be described as a large cylinder mounted to it.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Microwave Lynx. The concept from what images we could get of Eden's version were used to develop this. It is an agile chassis armed with a focused-microwave projection weapon. They can be driven manually inside or via remote control. These will be our escort into Eden and what you will be operating."

That revelation got the workers talking. The idea of Eden having weapons, let alone Plymouth developing their own was a shock. Why would they need such a thing? And now here they were asked to operate these things. Was Eden planning on starting a war? Just what were they researching in those labs to warrant such a development? Emotions were mixed on the situation.

"We will be heading out in a half hour. They operate no different then what you have driven before though we will be instructing you on weapon operation en route. I will leave it to you to discuss driving roles."

So I started chapter 1 for Bless the Broken Road, though the beginning is mainly a flashback sequence that explains a few details. Still, I'll post it just to see what you all think, especially with Elise's characterization. Also, special thanks to Tempest Dynasty for helping me out with what model of pistol would best suit Nanoha and her needs and for explaining the differences to a clueless individual like me. XD

Anyway, here's the beginning of chapter 1...

Spoiler for Bless the Broken Road: Collision Course:

Chapter 1: Collision Course

“What’s that?”

Nanoha’s curious tone barely stirred Elise as she shrugged her jacket off and tied it carelessly around her waist, briskly brushing loose strands of golden hair out of her eyes before she turned to look at the girl she considered a little sister. The recently turned twelve-year-old was staring at the gun laying on the table; she’d seen Elise’s two pistols before numerous times and was actually quite familiar with handling them, as she often cleaned them herself when Elise was too busy to do it. This gun appeared to be a different model. She extended her hand briefly as though to touch it, hesitated, and retracted her hand back to her chest.

Amused despite herself, Elise crossed the room in easy strides and sat next to the younger girl, pistols in hand. She set her own pair down beside the model she’d left on the table, leaning back against the couch. “Do you know what type of gun this is, Nanoha?”
“It looks kind of like your two.” The brunette’s voice was uncertain, and she timidly stroked the barrel with her fingertips, entranced. “But it’s not quite the same.”
“Good girl. Most people can’t tell the difference just by looking. Listen carefully; I don’t intend to repeat myself, since Fiasse and I had to pull some strings to get this for you.”
“For… me? Onee-sama, why is it for me?”

Ignoring Nanoha’s question, Elise reached down to retrieve one of her beloved pistols, testing the weight in her hand. “My two friends here are 9mm Beretta 92FS models. Very reliable, the grip is customizable, and the magazine isn’t something to sneeze at. I originally intended to get you one of your own, but it didn’t quite fit what I had in mind for you.”
“But… couldn’t I just have one of yours?”
“That’s a question for another day. Now, then…”

Carefully, Elise set the pistol back down onto the table and brushed them aside before reaching for the model Nanoha didn’t recognize; she lofted it in her hand for a moment, eyes narrow, before she held it out to Nanoha. The twelve-year-old gaped at her. “Onee-sama…?”
“Nanoha, meet your new best friend, the Beretta 90Two. This boy here is very similar to my own 92FS. It’s highly customizable and the magazine load is high, so you won’t need to worry about running out of bullets in a crunch.” She lightly tapped the front of the gun, where Nanoha could see a place that was evidently meant to serve as a means of attaching something to the front of the gun. “And this is what convinced me to get you this model. This little attachment here allows you to place something like a flashlight on the gun, if you need it.” Her eyes gleamed. “Or, in your case, a little circular object like your beloved Raising Heart.”

Nanoha’s eyes widened. Timidly she took the gun, turning it over gently in her hands. Elise watched her silently for a moment before looking away.

“Fiasse told me you can’t handle magic the way you used to, but you’re still capable of small amounts, right? So I figured you can’t use Raising Heart in its full form because that would take up too much magic. But on the other hand, if you wanted to channel, say, a small amount into a bullet, you could click in Raising Heart and use it as a medium much like you’ve always done.” She shrugged. “No one said you had to completely give up magic, just that you had to find another way of fighting. That’s what I thought, anyway.”

For a long moment Nanoha gazed at the gun; she swallowed and gently stroked the barrel with her fingers before looking at Elise. “You… want to teach me?”
“The model is similar to what I have, so it wouldn’t be hard for me.” Elise shrugged. “If you want to give it a try, then I’ll help you.”

It seemed too good to be true; Nanoha was half tempted to pinch herself to see if it was all just a dream. She smiled and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. “Ne, Onee-sama…”
“Hmm?”
“Please… can you teach me?”

Elise glanced briefly at Nanoha, her eyes meeting the younger girl’s evenly; apparently seeing what she needed to, she smiled briefly and draped her arm along Nanoha’s shoulder, giving the girl a gentle squeeze as Nanoha giggled.

“Since you asked so nicely.”

Good gun, I wonder how her magic is going to work with her gun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satashi

OMG poor Vivio lol

Spoiler for Pornstar!Vivio pt.8:

Vivio panted, laying back against the cushions of her pillows and closed her eyes weakly as she recovered. A few moments passed by before she took a deep breath and let out a small giggle. "Wow," She exhaled the word before slowly twisting the bottom of an object next to her. "That was amazing...." Moving forward, she crawled along her bed to where her video camera was on it's stand and smiled at it. "Thank you for the request, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did." She gave a playful wink and blew a kiss into the camera before reaching up and clicking it off.

Now free of being recorded, the girl started to clean up the small mess that she made. Her body was wiped lightly with a towel and the bedsheets were quickly stripped down to go into the washing machine. As she walked through the living room, she jumped lightly when a knock came on her door. "Wh-who is it?"

"Syn!" A voice sang out on the other side.

'Crap!' Vivio quickly shoved her sheets into the washer and ran back to her room. "J-just a second Syn! I'm, um, just out of shower!" She scrambled to get her camera stand down and placed her camcorder into it's case after removing the memory stick and placing it on her desk next to her laptop. After hiding the case in her closet she grabbed her disregarded clothes and put them on, almost falling over while trying to zip up her jeans while walking at the same time. "Coming!" She smoothed out her clothes and took a deep breath before opening the door to allow Syn inside. "Hey!"

"Hi," Syn looked at her curiously. "You get dried off that fast?"

Vivio repressed a gasp, realizing that her shower lie was completely obvious since she wasn't wet. "Uhm, I got dried off and did my hair but wasn't dressed."

"Oh, you're the type to walk around naked in your house?"

"Er, kiiiiind of." Vivio blushed darkly. "Anyway, what's up?"

"Just got off work." Syn moved to the couch when Vivio patted the top of it and sat down. "I don't want to go home to an empty place soooo hi. You mind?"

"Not at all!" Vivio laughed nervously. "I was just cleaning."

"I can help?" Syn stood back up and smiled when Vivio frantically motioned with her hands. "Oh come on." She moved around Vivio and started going to the bedroom. "Let me see your room? I can clean it for you."

"No!" Vivio almost fell over chasing the girl.

"Nice room." Syn looked around and quickly turned to Face Vivio when the girl dived on the bed and shoved things off the side between the bed and wall. "What was that!?"

"I tripped!" Vivio kicked her leg out, knocking one more thing out of sight. "I- I hurt my leg and... I tripped!"

Syn looked at the girl oddly. "Okay... You're not hiding anything are you?"

"NO!"

".......I see." Syn smirked, moving to look under the bed and almost getting tackled by a frantic Vivio.

"Let's go get food! A date! leave, let's go now!"

"Hahaha, okay. That was easy." Syn was dragged by Vivio, grinning at the red tipped ears of the blond. 'I wonder what she was hiding from me?'

Pageclaim for frantic hiding of items!

Syn doesn't have a clue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicoX

Fate of the ReapersChapter 10

Spoiler for Chapter 10:

Agenda

Rapier had seen the events unfold at the base as he had successfully infiltrated the TSAB security system unnoticed.
He now had full control of the cameras and could see what was going on everywhere on the base. He had observed the infiltration of the reapers, although he had been too late to warn anyone. By the time he had reached the final firewall, the alarm had gone off and the reapers had left the building.

But he had other, more important matters on his hands than a mere intrusion. For too many years, he had been separated from a part of himself, a part assigned to work on a counter-measure. A fail-safe his programmers had put in that would activate if the reapers went rogue. Unfortunately, the code had been incomplete and Rapier had been forced to finish the code himself, assigning that workload to the part he had hidden deep within himself.

He accessed the hidden section of his memory bank and brought the separated part up. He connected himself to it once again and information streamed into his processor. He was slightly surprised at the result, as it was better than anticipated. He analyzed the data and noticed a few inconsistencies, but those wouldn’t take long to fix.

Not for him anyway.

The only problem now was to stay hidden, while at the same extracting information from the TSAB security system that contained the missing parts he didn’t have about the reapers. They had changed several times during the centuries and he needed to update the fail-safe code with new information.

He began the process of extracting it while the images from the surveillance system showed an increase in activity around the base.

=== ===

“What do you mean by ‘No reinforcements’? Why did I receive an approval an hour ago if there are no reinforcements?” Hayate asked the officer over the com.

“Lieutenant Colonel, we have a serious situation developing all over Mid-Childa,” the voice on the other side said. He had a calm voice, but she sensed he was tensed, not willing to talk about what the situation was. “Reapers have been spotted close to residential areas and the TSAB have decided to protect these locations at all costs. Every available mage has been called in. We don’t know what the reapers have planned, but we won’t let them make a surprise attack on us again. You have to work with what you have.”

Hayate shook her head. There is no way I can convince him. The TSAB needs the troops more than I do too.

“But you must have something I can use,” she continued. “A transport, support troops, anything you can offer.”

“There is nothing I can do. I’m telling you…wait, hold on.”

There was a pause as he checked something on his screen. “I might have something that can be of use to you. One of the transport helicopters just returned and it doesn’t have anything scheduled for some hours. If you want, I can contact the pilot and tell him you are in command.”

Hayate didn’t hesitate. A transport was one of the most important things she wanted, as the location they were going to was pretty far away. Even though they could manage to get there without one, she wanted the Nova teams to be rested until they arrived.

“Do it. Tell him to land on the helipad on the roof. We’ll be ready for him.”

“Roger that, Lieutenant Colonel,” he said and clicked of the intercom.

I need to tell this to the others right away, she thought while she walked towards the door. They won’t be happy about it, but it’s better to tell them now than on the way there.

Her military jacket hung beside the door and she was just about to lift it off its hanger, when a com window appeared in front of her. Signum appeared on the screen.

“Hayate, we just wanted to tell you that the others are ready to go. We are just waiting for the reinforcements,” she said.

Hayate sighed. I can just as well tell them now.

“Is everyone else there? I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, they are here,” Signum said “Is something wrong?”

Hayate nodded and gave her a sad smile.

“There are no reinforcements,” she said. “Reapers have appeared all over Mid-Childa. The brass is deploying all available mages they have and can’t spare anyone.”

Signum raised an eyebrow. “Reapers? It’s unusual for them to allow themselves to be compromised so quickly. Are they planning something?”

Hayate nodded again. “It seems that way, but neither I nor the higher-ups know the details. They are just preparing for the worst and I don’t blame them. It’s the most sensible action to take.”

“It’s a diversion,” Nanoha cut in on a new window that appeared in front of Hayate. “They know we are observing them at their base, so they sent out a few other groups to divert our forces.”

Hayate scratched the back of her head and thought about it for a moment. “Nanoha, we have no evidence that points to that,” Hayate said. “Focus on the task at hand, we can’t call for reinforcements and that’s that. I did however manage to get us a chopper that can transport us. It should arrive at the helipad soon.”

Nanoha didn’t push the subject any further. She rallied the others to follow her and closed the link. Hayate turned her attention back to Signum.

“Signum. Keep an eye out for Nanoha for me. I don’t want to lose her too and I can’t look after her when we get there,” she said.

“I’ll do my best,” Signum said and followed the others.

Hayate whipped her jacket off its hanger, and turned to exit via the door. Just before entering the hallway, she turned around and gazed at her office once more.

I have a feeling I won’t be coming back here anytime soon, she thought and began to close the door. Fate, we are coming for you. Just hold on for a bit longer.

She closed the door and proceeded towards the helipad.

=== === ===

The noise from the helicopter’s rotor reached Hayate’s ears just as she opened the door to the helipad. She saw the others standing a bit to the right, making room for it. She searched the sky around them and saw it coming in from the east. Its metallic skin gleamed in the afternoon sun, a contrast against the blue sky. It came in fast, faster than the protocols allowed, but the pilot seemed to have it under control.
Hayate went over to the others and helped them packing the extra equipment. She observed them for a bit.

Tense and nervous, she thought. I don’t blame them, this won’t be easy.

She looked over at Nanoha who had finished packing. She stood at the railing and looked at nothing in particular. Hayate rose to her feet and slowly walked over to her.

“Nanoha, are you alright?” she asked.

The girl didn’t turn around at first and continued staring out into the sky.

“Hayate,” she said with a low voice. “We will rescue Fate, won’t we?”

“Of course we will,” Hayate said and put a hand on her shoulder. “You know she can take care of herself until we arrive.”

“I know,” Nanoha said and turned around. She looked at Hayate with a sad expression. “At the time of the kidnapping…I can’t stop thinking about what I could have done instead. My mind just went blank; all I thought of were not to hurt Fate. Now that I think about it, I could have flown in and just grabbed the coffin itself. But why didn’t I do that back then? I don’t understand.”

Hayate put her hands on Nanoha’s shoulder and looked straight at her.

“It wasn’t your fault. You can’t blame yourself for that, no one anticipated that situation. Stop thinking about it and focus on rescuing Fate. We need you, Nanoha…now more than ever.”

Nanoha nodded and made a small smile.

“You’re right. I can’t let my feelings get the upper hand. Let’s go.”

Hayate smiled back and patted her on the shoulders.
The helicopter arrived at that moment and carefully put itself down on the helipad. Its rotor didn’t stop spinning and the pilot kept the engine running as he leant out of the window and waved his hand, signaling to them to get on. The load bay hatch opened and they began to climb aboard.
Hayate was the last onboard as she supervised the others and made sure that everything got inside before closing the hatch.
Inside, the engine noise was not as noticeable and the Nova teams chatted amongst themselves. A com window opened next to Hayate, designated to the pilot’s compartment.

“Vice! I didn’t know this were yours,” Hayate said, a bit surprised.

Vice laughed a little and took the helicopter up into the air.

“Well, I got a message stating that you needed some help and I was finished for the moment anyway,” he said and grew more serious. “I’m sorry to hear about Fate. I wasn’t here when it happened. I wish I could have been of assistance.”

Hayate glanced at Nanoha who was chatting with Vita. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but the Ace smiled and that was enough for her. She turned her attention back to Vice.

“Don’t worry, we manage. It’s just a matter of going inside and get her out from there,” she said.

Vice nodded. It looked like he had something to say but decided against it.

“I’ll talk to you later then,” he said and cut off the com. Hayate closed her eyes and let the noise and voices drain away for a moment. The shaking and the sensation of flight made her relaxed and calm.
She was brought out of this state when Rapier’s voice suddenly streamed into the compartment.

“I hope you can hear me as I’m using a non-legit communications grid right now”, he said, his voice a bit distorted and too sharp. “I just wanted to tell you that during the maintenance of your devices last night, I gave them a temporary upgrade suited for a specific use. Some of you have received a power upgrade, some a speed upgrade. I hope this will help you in the upcoming battle.”

Non-legit communications and unauthorized upgrading? Hayate thought. What the hell is he doing?

She stood up and heightened her voice. She didn’t like that Rapier went behind their backs.

“Explain yourself Rapier. This is very serious. You can’t go past the security like that, you might get separated from the system altogether.”

“I know the risks Lieutenant Colonel,” he said with annoyance in his voice. “It was something I had to do to get access to information I didn’t have at the time. I upgraded your devices just because they were on the way.”

Hayate didn’t know what he meant. The others were equally baffled.

“Information? What kind of information?”

“About the reapers,” Rapier said and sighed. “I’ll tell you more when I’m finished. Telling you everything now would make you unfocused.”

Before Hayate could say anything, Rapier terminated the connection and left them in silence.

Rein suddenly floated to Hayate’s side. She had been talking to Signum right before Rapier began to talk, but she had something to say.

“It’s true. I was also on maintenance last night and I felt something…strange,” she said.

Hayate looked at her worryingly. What they really didn’t need now was their devices to malfunction.

Rein nodded and flew back to Signum to continue their conversation. Hayate looked out of the window next to her and saw the sun closing in on the ground. They sky was now faint red and illuminated the compartment inside the helicopter. It looked so peaceful, so calming.
Hayate picked that moment to tell her plan to the others.

“Listen up,” she said and rose from her seat. The others turned around and looked at her. “The plan is the following; we disembark a distance from the base itself and make our way through the forest. The noise from the helicopter might alert them and I don’t want to risk that. Vice, would you be willing to provide covering fire from the helicopter in case we need it?”

Vice’s voice sounded through the compartment.

“No problem. I’ll let you off and stay there until you contact me,” he said.

“Thanks,” Hayate said and turned her attention back to the others. “When we get closer to the base, look out for patrols or traps. We don’t know if they will be waiting or not but be on your guard. The rest is simple; break in, fight our way through the base and rescue Fate. Since we don’t have any reinforcements, capturing it is not an option. Any questions?”

“Sounds good to me,” Vita said. “I’m longing for some metal smashing.”

“I don’t have anything to add Hayate,” Signum said. “Considering the circumstances, it’s what we have at the moment.”

The others came with their own approvals and no one disagreed. They knew that coming up with a plan with so little information was hard, if not impossible. It was better than nothing. All of them just wanted revenge on the reapers and save Fate. That was all that mattered.

"This is pretty fun," Vivio voice her thoughts aloud as she walked down the sidewalk of the strip mall. One hand was in her pocket while the other was clasping Syn's casually. "I don't come here often."

"I used to not." Syn replied easily. She stopped her walking and made Vivio pause as well to allow her to look into the windows of a store. "I work in there."

"Really?" The blond moved past Syn and went inside, pulling the blue haired one after her.

"H-hey, don't go in!"

"You wouldn't have brought me here if you didn't want me to see where you worked." The words struck home and Syn had a rare moment of being silent while Vivio looked around the semi-large clothing store.

A new voice made both girls look to the side where a woman greeted them. "Back already, Virage-san?" A woman stood in front of them with a smile. A French accent was noticeable in her language and a furry jacket covered most of her body.

Syn cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Vivio, this is Saharet-san, my boss. Saharet-san, this is Vivio, my girlfriend."

"This is pretty fun," Vivio voice her thoughts aloud as she walked down the sidewalk of the strip mall. One hand was in her pocket while the other was clasping Syn's casually. "I don't come here often."

"I used to not." Syn replied easily. She stopped her walking and made Vivio pause as well to allow her to look into the windows of a store. "I work in there."

"Really?" The blond moved past Syn and went inside, pulling the blue haired one after her.

"H-hey, don't go in!"

"You wouldn't have brought me here if you didn't want me to see where you worked." The words struck home and Syn had a rare moment of being silent while Vivio looked around the semi-large clothing store.

A new voice made both girls look to the side where a woman greeted them. "Back already, Virage-san?" A woman stood in front of them with a smile. A French accent was noticeable in her language and a furry jacket covered most of her body.

Syn cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Vivio, this is Saharet-san, my boss. Saharet-san, this is Vivio, my girlfriend."

"This is pretty fun," Vivio voice her thoughts aloud as she walked down the sidewalk of the strip mall. One hand was in her pocket while the other was clasping Syn's casually. "I don't come here often."

"I used to not." Syn replied easily. She stopped her walking and made Vivio pause as well to allow her to look into the windows of a store. "I work in there."

"Really?" The blond moved past Syn and went inside, pulling the blue haired one after her.

"H-hey, don't go in!"

"You wouldn't have brought me here if you didn't want me to see where you worked." The words struck home and Syn had a rare moment of being silent while Vivio looked around the semi-large clothing store.

A new voice made both girls look to the side where a woman greeted them. "Back already, Virage-san?" A woman stood in front of them with a smile. A French accent was noticeable in her language and a furry jacket covered most of her body.

Syn cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Vivio, this is Saharet-san, my boss. Saharet-san, this is Vivio, my girlfriend."

"The prep look looks good on you," Syn smiled at the girl in in the tennis skirt and pink-collared fitted polo shirt, "What do you want to do now?"
"Vote Republican," Vivio grimaced looking down at the clothes as if they burned her skin.

"The prep look looks good on you," Syn smiled at the girl in in the tennis skirt and pink-collared fitted polo shirt, "What do you want to do now?"
"Vote Republican," Vivio grimaced looking down at the clothes as if they burned her skin.

"Hm, well in that case..." Syn moved around the familiar store and made a bee-line to the section that she was looking for. When Vivio caught up, the girl had already picked out the clothing set to be tried on. "Here, put this on."

"Okay," Vivio took them and smiled. "Where's the changing room?"

"Over here," the two walked to the back of the store and split up. Syn sat down on a stool and waited patiently while listening to the sounds of clothes rustling around the corner and out of sight. A long silent moment passed before Vivio poked her head around around the corner.

"This is kind of embarrassing..."

Syn laughed to herself and shook her head. "Come on, let's see!" Her smile widened at the view of the girl before her. Black and white striped stockings covered the girl's legs to her mid-thighs where a leather miniskirt took over. Chains looped from the front center of the skirt and went around her side before connecting at the back. The white camisole had a thorned rose design on the front and was covered by an open button up long sleeve that was dark black with green and red glitter on it making up more rose designs. Finally a studded collar went around Vivio's neck to complete the outfit. "Hey, not too bad!"

"I feel funny in this." The blond blushed but still twirled for her date. "You like this kind of stuff afteral."

"Only on others." Syn took in the sight and felt herself blush softly when Vivio started posing for her. "Hey... you're pretty good at that."

The green and red eyed girl let out a small giggle while striking another pose and blowing a kiss towards Syn. Turning, she went back into the changing room and got back into her normal outfit, handing the other back to Syn to replace. "Enjoy?"

"Do I only get one show?"

"For now. I'll pose for you later if you want."

Syn smirked, taking vivio's hand and walking with her out of the store. "I'll hold you to that."

The air rushed around them once they were in the cold again and Vivio moved a strand of hair behind her ear. "What do you want to do now?"

Syn thought about the question for a moment. "There is a really good icecream place near here? My treat?"

The blond covered her giggle with her free hand. "It's freezing and you want ice cream?"

"I thought you would be the type to eat cold things on a cold day."

Vivio pondered the statement. "Really? What makes you say that?" A small nudge made Syn start walking to the ice cream parlor. "Are you trying to say I'm cold blooded?"

"Maybe," the teasing tone came back, getting a laugh. "You have a cute laugh."

Vivio blushed yet again. "Really?"

"Yes... and the way you blush so much is adorable."

"Mou!" Vivio looked away. "Stop it, you're embarrassing me..." She felt her hand being held just a little tighter and her heart skipped a beat. 'I've never been hit on like this before... She's honestly flirting with me... It is so much differnt than when acting...' Syn cocked her head to the side with a silent question as to why it suddenly went quiet. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Making me smile."

Syn rolled her eyes and got a laugh while guiding her friend into the ice cream place. "I'll buy, just don't get a big one..."

"I'll give you cooties." Syn pinched Vivio's side playfully, getting a yelp and a laugh. "What do you want?"

"You pick."

"Flavor then?"

"Mix."

Syn made eye contact with the person behind the counter. "Give us a cookie dough ice cream with fudge and caramel." A few moments later, and almost broke Syn later, the two sat across from each other at a small table with the ice cream between them.

A.) Feed ice cream to Vivio
B.) Take turns eating it
chatroom votes!

Spoiler for section three (B):

Syn picked up the spoon in the treat and scooped some up. "Dibs on first bite." She put it in her mouth and licked it clean before handing it to Vivio. "Yum."

Vivio shook her head in amusement beofre taking a bite herself. "Ooh, it is good." She got another small bite before handing the spoon back to her friend. "They could have at least given us two spoons."

"Probably thought we would feed each other."

"Ew, no. I swore that I would never, ever allow myself to do that." She took the spoon back after a few moments and got another bite, even breaking some of the waffle cone bowl to go with it. "Thank you for the treat."

"You thank me too much."

Vivio blinked, holding the spoon in her mouth for a moment while thinking. "Do I?"

"Yes. Yes you do." Syn reached forward and plucked the utensil from teh girl's mouth and dived back into the cold treat.

When their snack was completed the two walked back outside and shivered in the wind. "I should have worn a jacket or something."

Syn hummed softly while walking alongside the girl, finding her hand being taken once more. "Sorry I don't have one to offer you."

"It's okay, it would be funny anyway. You're really tomboyish you know that?"

Syn looked forward again and started walking towards the rest of the strip mall.

A.) Go into the toy store
B.) Go into the music store
C.) Go into the jewelry store
D.) End your date here.
Chatroom votes

Spoiler for section 4 (D):

Vivio shivered again, walking a little closer to Syn as they made their way past the final store. "Not a very big mall is it?"

"Not really, but it's nice. It makes for slow days at work." The girl looked down at the shivering one next to her. "It's getting late, we should head back before you catch a cold."

"Yeah, it's a little chilly." Vivio walked alongside Syn back to the car and got in once the door was opened for her. "I won't thank you this time." To answer her the door was closed and a tongue stuck out. Once the heat was turned on, the younger blond put her hands over the vents and bounced her legs in an attempt to get some kinetic energy to warm herself. "Is there a cold front moving in or something?"

"Yes," came the reply. "They were talking about it at work." The reply got her a hand to hold and the trip back to Vivio's apartment building was made while listening to the radio with random comments along the way.

As Vivio stood in front of her door she looked over at Syn and pondered the next step. The blue haired girl was standing in front of her, holding both her hands, and looking down into her eyes.

"I had fun tonight," Syn began while looking down into the girl's eyes. "I'm glad you let me stay, I don't want to be home alone tonight."

Vivio rubbed Syn's palms and nodded at her. "I'd ask you inside for a while, but I have to do laundry before I can get in bed so I won't be able to entertain you any." She noticed the depressed look that was quickly covered. "But... How about this?" Moving up on her toes, she gently kissed the girl on her lips. "For treating me to a nice night."

Syn reached up with one hand to touch her lips, a lopsided smile appearing on them. "Anytime... I'll see you later?"

"Yes," Vivio nodded at her. "I'll come visit you at work sometime too?"

"Please." The two looked at each other a moment more before Syn finally moved away and waved lightly. "Bye then."

"Bai-bai." Vivio waved back and waited until Syn was in the elevator down the hall before going into her apartment. turning on the lights, she smiled to herself and started to start her sheets to get clean. "I kissed her... hehe, she is a horrible kisser."

After getting her laundry going, the girl made her way to her bedroom. Laying down, she recovered the earlier hidden objects under her bed and cleaned them before stashing in her designated drawer for them. Her shirt was taken off, followed by her pants and bra before an extra long and baggy Tee was slid over her body to cover it. The girl sat down at her laptop and plugged in the earlier discarded memory stick to upload the video to her computer. "Let's see... Alright, he paid me already." With a smile she tapped the keyboard and confirmed the sending of her recent video to the fan and was rewarded with a pleasant beep to confirm that it was received.

"I have that, but thanks to my dates with Syn, I'm still a little behind... and rent is coming up." She spoke aloud while typing at her keyboard. "Maybe I can get lucky and pose for a magazine..." After entering in her username and password at her company's website she checked her notices and almost pumped her fist up in excitement at the opening. "Rent and bills payed!" she typed in her name and confirmed her contract. "Tomorrow at noon."

Now with her business taken care of, Vivio closed her laptop and moved to gather the dirty clothes laying around to prepare her next load. "Maybe I should visit Syn tomorrow after my shoot..." Her tongue licked her lips subconsciously and a happy thought made her giggle to herself. "I'll do that... She's really a nice girl."

Let's see how I do at handling the whole quote-multiple messages thing...though my ease with the whole fancy new technology stuff can be summed up in the fact that I've owned an iPod for...um...eight days now.

(even scarier is the fact that I'm essentially the IT officer for the law office where I practice!)
But for the most important things first, for PS!V I have to go with Asince it would increase Vivio's discomfort level about revealing her job if she started thinking that Syn thought of her as most naturally that way. Inner-monologue angst is the best!

Edit: Blast, you posted the next chapter fragment while I was typing that *facepalm*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laith

Welcome to the fanfiction thread, have fun post lost and forget your sanity at the door... wait dezopenguin... ZOMG you are the one that writes those Grim grimmoire fics!!You are in the Nanoha fandom now!? (havent checked FFnet in a while)... errh fanboyness aside welcome.

Yep, I got hooked. My attention got by the doujinshi at NanoFate.net, which led me to the ff.net section, which led me to the actual show, and the next thing I knew words were spewing off my pencil. I've got six of 'em now, alternatively featuring angst, fluff, and Vivio.

Update on my shiz: I've been really bogged down with projects lately (RL ones) =-= hopefully my life will be less frantic by the end of next week.

No, no, no...your first priority is getting out chapters of RebelS, then you deal with job/school/family/relationship issues. Please, learn to properly divide your time.

(And to both of you--wow; I never expected more than one person here would have ended up reading my GrimGrimoire stories! Ah, how I dream of one day reading one not written by...well, me. )

Quote:

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

So I started chapter 1 for Bless the Broken Road, though the beginning is mainly a flashback sequence that explains a few details. Still, I'll post it just to see what you all think, especially with Elise's characterization. Also, special thanks to Tempest Dynasty for helping me out with what model of pistol would best suit Nanoha and her needs and for explaining the differences to a clueless individual like me. XD

Anyway, here's the beginning of chapter 1...

Spoiler for Bless the Broken Road: Collision Course:

Spoiler for Bless the Broken Road: Collision Course:

Chapter 1: Collision Course

“What’s that?”

Nanoha’s curious tone barely stirred Elise as she shrugged her jacket off and tied it carelessly around her waist, briskly brushing loose strands of golden hair out of her eyes before she turned to look at the girl she considered a little sister. The recently turned twelve-year-old was staring at the gun laying on the table; she’d seen Elise’s two pistols before numerous times and was actually quite familiar with handling them, as she often cleaned them herself when Elise was too busy to do it. This gun appeared to be a different model. She extended her hand briefly as though to touch it, hesitated, and retracted her hand back to her chest.

Amused despite herself, Elise crossed the room in easy strides and sat next to the younger girl, pistols in hand. She set her own pair down beside the model she’d left on the table, leaning back against the couch. “Do you know what type of gun this is, Nanoha?”
“It looks kind of like your two.” The brunette’s voice was uncertain, and she timidly stroked the barrel with her fingertips, entranced. “But it’s not quite the same.”
“Good girl. Most people can’t tell the difference just by looking. Listen carefully; I don’t intend to repeat myself, since Fiasse and I had to pull some strings to get this for you.”
“For… me? Onee-sama, why is it for me?”

Ignoring Nanoha’s question, Elise reached down to retrieve one of her beloved pistols, testing the weight in her hand. “My two friends here are 9mm Beretta 92FS models. Very reliable, the grip is customizable, and the magazine isn’t something to sneeze at. I originally intended to get you one of your own, but it didn’t quite fit what I had in mind for you.”
“But… couldn’t I just have one of yours?”
“That’s a question for another day. Now, then…”

Carefully, Elise set the pistol back down onto the table and brushed them aside before reaching for the model Nanoha didn’t recognize; she lofted it in her hand for a moment, eyes narrow, before she held it out to Nanoha. The twelve-year-old gaped at her. “Onee-sama…?”
“Nanoha, meet your new best friend, the Beretta 90Two. This boy here is very similar to my own 92FS. It’s highly customizable and the magazine load is high, so you won’t need to worry about running out of bullets in a crunch.” She lightly tapped the front of the gun, where Nanoha could see a place that was evidently meant to serve as a means of attaching something to the front of the gun. “And this is what convinced me to get you this model. This little attachment here allows you to place something like a flashlight on the gun, if you need it.” Her eyes gleamed. “Or, in your case, a little circular object like your beloved Raising Heart.”

Nanoha’s eyes widened. Timidly she took the gun, turning it over gently in her hands. Elise watched her silently for a moment before looking away.

“Fiasse told me you can’t handle magic the way you used to, but you’re still capable of small amounts, right? So I figured you can’t use Raising Heart in its full form because that would take up too much magic. But on the other hand, if you wanted to channel, say, a small amount into a bullet, you could click in Raising Heart and use it as a medium much like you’ve always done.” She shrugged. “No one said you had to completely give up magic, just that you had to find another way of fighting. That’s what I thought, anyway.”

For a long moment Nanoha gazed at the gun; she swallowed and gently stroked the barrel with her fingers before looking at Elise. “You… want to teach me?”
“The model is similar to what I have, so it wouldn’t be hard for me.” Elise shrugged. “If you want to give it a try, then I’ll help you.”

It seemed too good to be true; Nanoha was half tempted to pinch herself to see if it was all just a dream. She smiled and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. “Ne, Onee-sama…”
“Hmm?”
“Please… can you teach me?”

Elise glanced briefly at Nanoha, her eyes meeting the younger girl’s evenly; apparently seeing what she needed to, she smiled briefly and draped her arm along Nanoha’s shoulder, giving the girl a gentle squeeze as Nanoha giggled.

“Since you asked so nicely.”

Okay, I'm onboard for the ride. Nanoha's basically a girls-with-guns character anyway, just without needing the firearms. It's a logical extension. Now, just so I don't come off like a complete idiot, the supporting cast is from Triangle Heart, is that right? Or something else entirely?

(I can just see her hooking up Raising Heart to a LAW when she needs the equivalent of a Divine Buster...)

To everyone else who offered words of welcome, thank you! Glad to be here!

Lastly, since yakking about myself is all too easy to do:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satashi

@Thread: Why do you write? Is it a personal goal? For others?

I'd have to say it's a personal thing; my imagination has been creating stories from the time I was a little kid. I think I actually wrote my first "story" when I was...7 (a one-page teenage-sports fic, I believe) and I've been doing so ever since. Fanfiction, on the other hand, I've only been involved with for a dozen years or so. It appeals to me because whenever I really like a particular media (book, game, movie, TV show, anime, whatever) my mind immediately tries to immerse myself into it, and fanfiction provides an outlet for that (I'd probably do fanart, too, but I so can't draw), a way to merge myself with the characters, setting, whatever it is (that's why my fiction tends to be pretty much "original flavor," avoiding crossovers or AU settings, because the things that draw me to a particular original are the setting, or the plot, or the atmosphere, or the characters of that original--I don't object to reading such things, but I tend not to write them except in gag stories, and usually not even those). I do appreciate the fact that fanfiction does allow me to share my love for a particular series with others, particularly since I'm not prone to sending my original fiction anywhere.

It's not a new chapter but it's been updated a bit and features a new preview and more information on The Metal Menagerie's naming scheme.
and now you can catch up on the first four parts before the 4th chapter comes out

It's not a new chapter but it's been updated a bit and features a new preview and more information on The Metal Menagerie's naming scheme.
and now you can catch up on the first four parts before the 4th chapter comes out

Shari aimed at the nearest mutant who looked like someone that lived for 400 years. The mutant just laughed and battered the gun away. “What, you plan to shoot us with that when you can’t even aim straight? You amuse me,” the mutant said. He grabbed Shari’s hand and wanted to bite it when a gunshot rang out. The mutant grabbing Shari fell to the ground as the bullet punctured his head. The other mutants looked at the one who fired the shot.

“Leave Miss Shari alone, fiends!” yelled Vivio as she pointed the gun at the next closest mutant. “Vivio, since when did you learn how to shoot like that?” exclaimed Shari. She always thought that Vivio was that sweet-and-innocent type of girl who dared not harm a fly, or so she thought. The mutants looked at her and ran towards her. Vivio fired rapid shots into their heads and killed them before they could even touch her. Then, the gun ran out of bullets.

“Uh oh, not good. Miss Shari, I need more shots!” yelled Vivio

“I have no spare!” Shari answered. The mutants were closing in when shots from somewhere rang out and killed the remaining mutants. Out from the darkness came Teana holding her Cross Mirage. “I knew I’ll find you here,” she said with a wry smile. Teana examined both of them and nodded. “No bites or anything. You seem okay. I encountered a lot of mutants on the way here so I apologize for my tardiness.”

Shari shook her head and smiled. “Nah, you’re timing couldn’t have been better, Teana. You should have seen how Vivio killed some of the mutants. Her shots were dead on.” Teana looked at Vivio for a while smiled and patted her head. “She’ll be a great marksman one day,” said Teana. Vivio smiled back in approval. Teana was helping Shari up when some soldiers came from a corner, following Nanoha.

“Nanoha-mama!”

“Vivio, you’re alright!” exclaimed Nanoha with happiness. She hugged Vivio and patted her. “Thank you, Teana. If it weren’t for you, who knows what will happen to Vivio.” “But I only killed half of the mutants. Vivio killed the rest,” said Teana. Nanoha was taken aback and looked at Vivio. “You’re kidding me, right? I mean Vivio can’t even cast spells yet and you say she killed half.”

“I’m not kidding. I saw her shooting the mutants.”

“Wow, Vivio, you must have some talent in you. I must recommend you to Marksman Academy one day.”

The lead soldier came up to Nanoha and patted her shoulder. “We found your daughter so come with us now. It’s getting late and the mutants are more active during the night.” Shari looked at the soldiers and nodded her head in approval. “For a race less advanced than us, you guys look tough.”

The lead beckoned everyone to follow him so he led them to the place where Johannes was encamped. Johannes was busy surveying his TAC Map in an apartment building when a group of soldiers came in.

“Colonel, Sergeant Lopez has returned with a group of locals who seem to have something to say about this infection outbreak.”

“Bring them in.”

Nanoha and the others came in. Nanoha was awed by Johannes’s tall, muscular build and the scar that ran down his right eye. “So, these are the locals?” asked Johannes. “No sir, this red-haired one claimed that she said that she is from Earth,” said Lopez. Johannes took a closer look at her and had a surprise. “Hey, you look familiar. I thought I’ve seen you somewhere in Japan before.”

Nanoha thought about it and shook her head. “I don’t remember seeing you, Colonel. Perhaps you’ve seen someone that looks like me.” “Hmm…in that case, let me ask you a question. Does your father Kyoya Takamachi work at the Midori-ya café? Do you have a mother whose name is Momoko, a sister named Miyuki and a brother named Shiro?”

“What, how’d you know?!” Nanoha exclaimed. Johannes gave a laugh. “Nanoha, I was a frequent visitor to your shop when I was just Chief Petty Officer! Don’t you remember a soldier with white hair that always gave you sweets and brought you out for walks?”

Nanoha remembered now. That soldier really did take her out for walks even though she never knew his name. That soldier with striking looks was the one that stood in front of her after 10 years. How could he remember her when she couldn’t even remember him? Nanoha was surprised to the core.

“Anyway, I’m surprised to see you here on a foreign planet. Not only that, you have grown into a striking young lady and you look just like your mother.” Johannes’s smile was just as same as it was 10 years ago. Nanoha always liked it but she dared not admit it. “Sir, I have something to tell about Jake and I hope you believe me.” “Jake…what is it about him? Also, can you tell me how you arrived here to work and all that? I’m much interested in what you’re gonna say,” said Johannes.

So, Nanoha related everything she done and achieved over the period of time until present day. She also told him about how Jake mutated an entire population and all that. Johannes listened intensively and nodded. When Nanoha was done, Johannes chewed on his cigarette butt. “Interesting history you have here, Nanoha. I think you do deserve to be Captain for all your efforts. As for Jake, I believe what you say but if I were to kill him, Kiethon will skin me alive. Not that I’m scared or anything but Kiethon is very influential. He has battalions on his side and anyone who opposed him was arrested. I appealed to the Board of Admiralty to have him fired because he poses a threat if his actions go unchecked. They wanted to but Kiethon will always have informants. I was Kiethon’s nemesis as I always looked for a chance to get him. It’s messy business in the Terran Military Force.”

Johannes’s face went dark and continued. “He was the one that ordered the research for Alpha Strain viruses. He was the one that had the entire planet turned into a battlefield! He was the reason why we have rebels on Mars! He…never mind, I don’t wish you all to meddle in our affairs. I dunno why he wanted viruses when we have guns to do the job. He has an agenda, I just know it.” Nanoha and others listened without a word. Suddenly, Johannes smiled. “I do believe he did something to Jake and had him pollute your planet as well. That is why I believe you. Don’t worry; I’ll do anything I can to get rid of him and Jake. We have no cure for Alpha Strains but we’re working on it.”

Nanoha was impressed by Johannes. He wasn’t a forceful type neither was he a panicky one. Johannes was a nice guy, as nice as he was 10 years ago. Johannes got up from the chair he sat on and went to look out the window of the building. At the entrance, soldiers and marines built a temporary bunker with machine guns to prevent the mutants from entering. Snipers were sent to scout the city and the outskirts.

“Nanoha, where are your other friends? I thought you have one Fate Tastetherooster and Hayate Yamaggi.”

Nanoha laughed. “It’s Fate Testarossa and Hayate Yagami. How do you know we worked together here?” “When I never saw you and your two friends for a long time, I suspected you three went somewhere,” said Johannes. Nanoha pointed at the TAC Map. “They’re in the water distribution facility just 30 kilometers north of here.”

Johannes nodded and ordered a detachment unit to retrieve her friends. Just then, they heard howling coming from somewhere in the city. Vivio was scared but Johannes looked calm. “They’re looking for more victims. It won’t be long before they find us.”

Gun shots rang out to confirm that.

“Come, let us do all we can to cleanse this city. Are you with me?” asked Johannes. Nanoha remembered he said the same thing before he took her out for walks when she was 9. “Yes, I’m with you,” replied Nanoha. She reloaded Raging Heart and smiled with confidence.

“Let’s kick mutant butt.”

Some points in here are fiction such as Johannes knowing Nanoha. It's a fanfic. What do you expect?

All I have to say LOL! Fate TASTETHEROOSTER! That's an awesome name. I like this Johannes guy already. Nice chapter.

It's not a new chapter but it's been updated a bit and features a new preview and more information on The Metal Menagerie's naming scheme.
and now you can catch up on the first four parts before the 4th chapter comes out

Nice. I'll read that in a few minutes. Though I can't wait for the next chapter.

@Satashi: So much PS!Vivio! Not that I'm complaining. Anyways cute date, I can't wait to see what'll happen next
@EvilRick: Wow the back story behind Alicia and Precia's connection to Techno-Union was super interesting. Man Zaeta is always there to save everyone with her dragon blood. OMG, Vita and Hayate were heartbreaking, I wanted to cry. Woah, ROBO-GATSURALLY showing up was unexpected. Aww Jail seems so awesome again, he's so nice. Dr. Faust is dead, I can't believe it. This looks like a really downhill battle. Damn it! I thought they had actually won! I hope Fate and Alicia will be alright. Now let's go to that palace!

Anyway, just wanted to tell you that I do not vote in the last chapter you posted because with so many "parts" and "decitions" it was rather confusing to me

BTW, I would like to see this fic attached totally to a romantic/ cute/ lovely fic, leaving apart the "Perverted" parts (I'm refering to the begining in part 8 )
Just a sugestion though XD, Keep going!

@AtomicoX: Oh, sweet revenge Fate of the Reapers is reaching the climax! XD, So... nextc chapter is the final you said?

@marksellus and Kai the Reaper: Thank you guys for the coments about NROTU, don't worry, Alicia would be fine , I just wanted to thankyou both for following this story to this point since the begining, thankyou guys, I love you